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Saturday, February 9, 2008

New Swell: Timing is Everything!

Classic California surf days, blue skies, light offshore, solid groundswell, cool crisp water- these days keep you jazzed for months. Today we got a pretty good one. The town just comes alive, everywhere you look somebody's walking to the beach with a board under their arm, or riding an old rusty beater down to get a surf in. I really like seeing all the surf-mobiles cruising the strand with boards sticking out of the back. Our little surf-ghetto just starts crackling!

The surf forecasters timed this swell just right- they said it'd start showing itself this morning and right on time it was here. How convenient. It did end up being kind of an odd one though, a rising tide put a little backwash bump into it and although the swell was a nice long period one there were only a few holes out there that could bend it into something surfable. Big Chad and I ended up making the mile and a half paddle south to try to surf a shifty outside cobble reef. This particular spot looks good but it's a tough nut to crack. The peak shifts all over the place and it's so far out that it's tough to line it all up. I call it Phantoms because once you get all the way out there trying to find the take off spot is like chasing a ghost.

Both of us managed a handful of waves. I got exactly two before I rode one too far in and had to walk a quarter mile south to punch out again. Tough conditions. I also got a little cocky trying to pick off a 'tweener and got caught inside by a set of about ten overhead waves. Spanked. We chalked it up as a weird day out there, fun but weird. I checked the spot an hour before sunset and it was going off, consistently breaking in the same spot, looking much more do-able.

Timing's everything with these sand/cobble spots and waiting a few hours can make all the difference in the world. It's tough to be patient though, especially when you're coming out of a surf famine. Let's hope tomorrow I develop some patience (yeah right, I'm already amping for the dawn patrol right now!). Hope it went down well for you.

2 comments:

"Phantoms"...I like it. No doubt a hidden jewel now on your radar. A spot influenced by all the factors: tide, wind, swell direction and size. And just you and Chad to suss it out away from the snarling crowds...how very cool!